Disease Proof

Posted at 8:47 AM on March 5, 2012 by Emily Boller

Interview with a Nutritarian: Chris S.

This winter a Facebook friend alerted me to an online interview of a guy talking about his newfound health through following Dr. Fuhrman’s nutritional recommendations. I was thrilled to learn that he was from my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana ~ small world! Chris has been radically changed by putting high-nutrient foods into his body, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Welcome to Disease Proof, Chris.

What was your life like before committing to Eat to Live?

I was a typical, successful middle-aged male; however, I was deeply worried and hopeless, because I knew my health was declining and I’m a single dad of a teen. My weight was steadily increasing and I was having night sweats, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, plantar fasciitis, and serious tightness in my chest. My doctor told me that my declining health was “the result of aging.” He also told me that I’d have to be on meds for the rest of my life. I wasn’t ready for that and had a gut feeling that it wasn’t necessarily true.

How did you find out about Dr. Fuhrman?

One night last summer I plopped down on the couch, turned on the TV, and Dr. Fuhrman was on PBS. His presentation, Three Steps to Incredible Health, hit me just at the right moment. I watched the whole program, bought Eat to Live, and then read the whole book the next day. I committed 100% to nutritarian eating, cold turkey; complete with cleaning out the entire kitchen.

How do you feel now?

The most important change is that I’m no longer worried about leaving my daughter without a Dad. My high blood pressure, high cholesterol, night sweats, plantar fasciitis, and chest pains are all GONE. I am taking no drugs; plus, I also feel more confident about the way I look.

Do you have any success tip(s) to share with others?

Simply do not have the standard American diet foods in your home, garage, basement, car, office, etc. That’s been the key to success for me. My weakness is chips. One time after becoming a nutritarian I bought ten bags of “healthy” chips, because they were on sale. Well, guess what? I ate all ten bags in ten days! I ate chips and salsa, chips and hummus, chips and soup . . . . chips, chips, chips!

Keep healthy food options in the car. I learned early on that fast food will beg you to come through the drive-thru! Be prepared in advance.

Schedule a time in your weekly schedule to learn new information. Learning to cook is the most important, because it’s easy to get in a rut and just use the same recipes. I re-read a bit of either Eat to Live or Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease every week. And I watch the movie, Forks over Knives, every month; preferably with new people so I can see their excitement.

My mentor, Jim Rohn said, “Sometimes the mind is ready, but the body is weak! You wake up in the morning and the mind says ‘Let’s go get ’em!’ The body says, ‘I can’t get outa bed!’”

Lacking energy from eating the standard American diet, and maybe more importantly, lacking confidence about the future, (fear of dying, or having a stroke, or just being physically unable to achieve dreams and goals in the next few years) robs us of our ability to hope, dream, and take the first steps towards achieving our goals. Why bother with setting goals and expending the tremendous effort required to move in the direction of our dreams if we subconsciously believe that we will not have the energy, or perhaps not even be here to follow through and achieve those goals? Nutritarian eating has given me the necessary confidence to dream and achieve goals!

Before

After

Weight

216

181

Blood pressure

134/83

111/68

Cholesterol

216

161

Night sweats

gone

Chest tightness

gone

Plantar fascitis

gone

Congratulations Chris ~ keep up the great work and go freely in the direction of your dreams!

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Comments (15)Read through and enter the discussion with the form at the end

Teri -
March 5, 2012 10:39 AM

This is a success story I needed to hear today. Just the right words to kick me in the right direction again. He's right, chips are the least dangerous treat with salsa, but you will eat them all with time....excellent job Chris S. Keep on growing!

Thank you for sharing. I am praying and asking God to give me the strength to keep going. I feel so much better already after losing 20 pounds. I know I have at least 40 more pounds to go.

Chip -
March 5, 2012 12:33 PM

I love reading testimonies like this of weight loss, because I know it can be done. Great inspiration, keep up the good work. Wanted to know how long do this take??

QB -
March 5, 2012 12:44 PM

CONGRATS!!! This is a great success story! I'm proud of you & happy for you & your daughter! Keep up the excellent work.

Lise -
March 5, 2012 12:47 PM

I too, had high blood pressure and I was overweight. I am now at my doctor's recommended goal weight and I am off all medication for high blood pressure, specifically Norvasc. My blood pressure is normal off the drugs. I enjoy walking each day and eating a nutritarian diet, plenty of greens in soups, salads, smoothies and stirfries. I am off all dairy and animal products and have noticed that my skin is smoother and my psoriasis has not shown up yet this winter and it is almost spring! I used to have psoriasis on my scalp in the winter and I had small pumps on the back of my arms and the top of my thighs. That is totally gone. I started on this new way of eating after seeing Dr. Fuhrman on PBS Sept. 13, 2011 and it has changed my life. I also read Eat to Live and saw the movie Forks over Knives.

Patrick -
March 5, 2012 1:06 PM

Congrats Chris!
Awesome stuff :o)

Bill -
March 5, 2012 1:18 PM

Chris, you rock!!! Aging isn't something to hold us back, we can change the aging process. You are a great inspiration to many I'm sure. Keep up the good work and bless your daughter with years of having her dad!!!

mgm -
March 5, 2012 1:53 PM

These types of stories motivate me more than anything else. All the science is interesting and foundational, but it's seeing it actually come to something in a real persons life that makes me say 'Amen!', hit the exercise bike and eat an apple. Before and after photos/weights - I can't get enough of those. I just wish my husband would come along for the ride. Other than letting me sneak some raw spinach into his smoothie every morning, his bad food addictions reign supreme, even after spending five days in the hospital last year with severe intestinal distress that almost killed him. He refused to think it had anything to do with diet, and of course his doctors were clueless on that score. But I'm not letting that stop me from doing what I know is right - if he lives forever out of sheer dumb luck, I want to be there, healthy. If he drops early from completley neglecting himslef, I want to be healthy so I can take of myself on my own. Either way - don't let a lack of partnering from your significant other stop you -invest in yourself, and start today.

JenLamSis -
March 5, 2012 2:28 PM

Congratulations! So inspiring!

I've lost 25 lbs eating Nutritarian, about halfway to my goal. First 20 happened in 6 mos when I was being strict. Then I started letting in too many "cheats" and weight loss stagnated. (Same experience with bags of organic chips bought on sale - Ha!)

It does help to surround yourself with constant reminders of Nutritarian wisdom. All the links on this site are great ones. I especially like Healthy Girls Kitchen.

Lorrie -
March 5, 2012 2:54 PM

Congratulations! It is wonderful to hear inspiring stories such as yours. I know the road to health can be difficult, and all of us need to periodically hear these stories to keep us on track. Thank you.

Jen -
March 5, 2012 3:43 PM

I am with the others that the "average" person stories are really really motivational. It is possible to take our lives us another notch. It is so easy to get sucked back into the SAD. I was starting to slip again but this has given me the boost I need! Can't thank you enough Chris for a being a great example.

Teri - Sometimes the right info hits us at the right time. Glad the timing was good for us! Now clean out those cupboards!

Kim - I lost roughly 20 lbs in the 1st 30 days. 35 in 9 weeks. I was VERY strict. I was not severely overweight but it was EFFORTLESS - the weight loss part that is. No killing yourself at the gym or starvation!

Tereza -Congrats on the 20 lbs! Amazing! Celebrate your success. Why would you EVER go back to feeling how you felt? :-)

Chip - It DEFINITELY CAN be done. Since I did it, my Dad did. My daughter did. My dentist. My friends. Took me one month for all the problems to disappear. 2 months for all the weight to disappear. That was >6 months ago.

QB - Thank you for the encouragement! Feels so much better to know that my kid will have her Dad around! :-)

Lise - You ROCK! Now you're not continuing for you. You are continuing as a shining example of what is POSSIBLE. I'm proud of you!

Patrick - Thanks for the encouragement!

Bill - We've all got to age, but isn't it nice to know that we have a LOT of influence on what that process looks and feels like? Thanks!

mgm - Wise words. And no amount of cajoling, coaxing, pushing, yelling, etc will be 1/2 as persuasive as your return to health. Keep up the good work!

Lorrie - You are certainly welcome. Thanks in return for the encouragement to continue.

To all - Your feedback means so much. Our country is in a full-blown crisis. We will never last as a great country until we fix our health problem. The SAD may well be the end of the United States of America. How are we to compete with other countries if we're so full of medicines and pain killers that we can't even think straight. Let's spread the message that health is not some mystical unicorn. It's not only in fairy tales. It's available to nearly everyone who is willing to get out of the comfort zone and think for themselves. WE CAN BE THAT CHANGE. WE can bring others along by our example.

If you're at the health immersion in Fort Wayne, IN on 3/8/2012 be sure to say "howdy."

Chris

Emily Boller -
March 5, 2012 5:53 PM

Clarification: The Health Immersion in Fort Wayne with Dr. Fuhrman is this coming Saturday, March 10th.